Umbrellas

A canopy designed to protect against precipitation or sunlight.

What can I say...
This is what I'm after.

History of Umbrellas


Rihanna touts Totes
Ahh, I see the tie-in- here are the lyrics to her song about umbrellas (I think it's about umbrellas, who can tell?)
Umbrella lyrics

Costumes FOR umbrellas


How to be a bat without getting bitten

Costumes FROM umbrellas

Costumes ABOUT umbrellas, but you'll have to dig for this one.

Horse Costumes with Matching Umbrellas

"* The much you buy the less will be shipping charges."

The Umbrella Mouthed Gulper Eel


The cheesy jellyfish umbrella costume, not made by an obsessive fabric artist:
(they use glowsticks rather than battery powered twinkle lights, pshaw!) This is only the instruction page.

And, the Martha version, simply over the top!
Naturally the one I am headed for. I guess under it all I am supposed to dress like a condom too. Don't know if I will be able to talk TY into all this.

Buy stock in bubblewrap! That's my next order.

And here is my umbrella order confirmation to prove I am on the way.
Frankford Umbrellas (thanks to Terry) to me
9:13 AM (16 minutes ago)
The following package was shipped to you via the U.S. Postal Service:

Delivery ZIP............02458
Shipment Date...........7/18/08
Mail Class..............Priority Mail
Signature Required......No
Confirmation Number.....910**10521291***802691
(number altered so you don't call up and get my new umbrellas redirected!)

Next post about Jellyfish, maybe.

A Fiber Diet, just a little taste

Art is science made clear.
- Jean Cocteau

Maxi knit ceramic project to discover, among other things, on the site of the
excellent studio : Muurbloem


How cool is this- a KNITTED building.

<a href="http://www.idtextile.fr/blog/index.php?Expositions-exhibitions">
Festival of Linen</a> (in French) with lovely embroideries hanging in a tiny chapel in Normandy, France. The space is exquisite and the work sensitive and compelling.

Baa Baa Black Sheep

A friend sent me these sheep the other day, I have no idea where they were displayed or who made them but look closely- they are all made of telephone coiled receiver cords. Now look at their feet- all receivers! And their heads? Yup. Sheep are the best!

UPDATE: These are the Telephone Sheep by Jean Luc Cornec displayed at the Museum for Communication in Frankfurt, Germany. Jane graciously found the particulars for me and also left several sheepy comments- sorry, I should have done it myself but I was trying out Scribefire and my swiss cheese brain was smelling like a sandwich- hence the massive size of the images. This is so great, I have hated being constrained by Blogger as to image size!

And another sheep picture from my pal Deanna in northern CA. Her formerly-white sheep are covered in ash from the surrounding forest fires- here they are grazing away- in their new black duds.
I'm wondering if they have also picked up that wonderful grilled flavor from the ash they are eating... Ummmmm!

And thanks to Jane we now know about the Booigal sheep decorating and race day. Sounds like it may be worth the flight to New South Wales: "Sheep Racing is obviously a very tricky business. If it wasn't, everyone would be organising it. Sheep, as we all know, are loyal, flocking, shepherd - following creatures, and have inspired whole breeds of Sheep Dogs, and their resulting Sheep-Dog trial events, so it is only appropriate that sheep have an event of their own in which to star.

And finally, here's the definitive sheep!

Horror-Scopes

Yesterday morning I read my astrology report and it said something about how wonderful and renewed I will feel after noon, but not to whoop and holler too loudly until later.

At 11:30 TY went back to FL so I have my house to myself. It was all I could do not to let out a *little* whoop as I shut the car door and drove away from the airport. It's not that I don't LIKE him, it's just that I am not getting my alloted dose of solitude lately and simply cannot work in the studio when there is someone in the house. OK, so I know I have a problem but the next few days will be heaven for me even though I get the early morning AND late night dog walking duty!

So I spent the afternoon well- I went and found a new house! There are two (count 'em!) TWO studio possibilities in this place, two (count again!) small office rooms so we won't have to share desk space, two (getting repetitious, isn't it?) master bedrooms with fancy baths and a finished soundproof room in the basement that is wired for big-ass tvs for TY. And it's in the country so I would be able to sleep with open windows and hear the birdies. Perfect, well *almost* perfect because it's twice the size of this condo and I certainly don't need more room if I look at the Big Picture. So, as I SEW and PAINT and GLUE today, I will be dreaming of grass ands trees and ticks and mud! Fingers crossed.

Wolves and Jellyfish and Grass

The Two Wolves

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is Good. It is joy, peace , love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith. The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather:? "Which wolf wins?" The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

This parade takes place in Olympia Washington and though I already lost the link, I think it was called something like 'The Parade of the Species'. The reason I find this so compelling is that we are invited to a COSTUME PARTY in a few months and there are definitely some great imaginations at work here. I refuse to rent a costume and go as Marie Antoinette, and making a costume for one damn evening is ridiculous- time spent sewing and fitting, then the storage issues for two of us. But watch the video again and notice the jellyfish 'costumes'- simple umbrellas with streamers around the edges We are gonna be jellyfish! Of course I now need to do some research. How I miss my photos that I lost in the Crash of 2000! (Except that it led me back to Macs so I guess it was worth it in the long run.) Let me know if you see any jellyfish-colored umbrellas anywhere...

HEATHER ACKROYD AND DAN HARVEYand their photosynthesis work. (Disclaimer: I have an unusual interest in grass as my dad was in the lawn and farm seed business all his working life. I doubt he would have understood grass-as-art-form but for me it is just part of the continuum.) The panels are created by growing grass with a photographic image projected on them- the differing amounts of light change the color of the grass. Do visit the website linked above to see some of their other projects.
I've been reading, or maybe just noticing for the first time, that grass is a current media darling.




Treehugger blog has a prototype grass for installation on interior walls.












Grass Wall Garden outside garden entrance







When m friend Lisa was visiting The Rachofsky Collection in Dallas, she came across this bucolic installation by the artist Robert Irwin called 'Tilted Planes' (1999)







Interior walls of fake grass- maybe a bit over the top? Remember Huldy on that house exchange decorating show? She always did stuff like this, fake flowers or hay on the walls. Proceed at your own risk.















Grass wall stickers if all else fails!

Artty Day

Off on an adventure today with a car load of crit group members. We rarely do this kind of thing as a group so it should be fun. Of course it involves a pass through the museum store to check for another length of mudcloth, so send up the good thoughts that they have more stocked because I have a chair to recover. They have the best, most eclectic shop of any museum. So, here I go-

Peabody Essex Museum, The Wedded Bliss Exhibit.

Full disclosure, the reason I really really wanted to see this exhibit is because my long time friend and confidante Teddy Pruett has a quilt included- that may not be the most flattering picture of 'wedded bliss'!


Laliberte Exhibit at Monserrat College of Art.Because he was a teacher of one of our crit group members so we are arranging a whole field trip around the show!

Travel Plans?

So you can make your travel arrangements to Birmingham, Johannesburg, and Coos Bay!  (I was thrilled that a friend sent me the ad from Fiberarts that used my detail image, especially after going through so much trouble over getting them!)

The Art of Failure

In the 70's and 80's Chuck Connolley was one of the brightest starts on the art horizon. He made millions and was followed by the best galleries and critics. But his attitude and substance abuse played havoc with his life and one patron after another dropped him. Here are a few short films showing Connelly at his best as well as the arrogant angry abuser he became. Currently he is being followed as he is foreclosed on, as his future has no hope. A tale of caution, fleeting fame, and the gallery system.

Chuck's Guide to the Art of Failure

Art of Failure Complicated

Catch of the Day

Art of Failure I Could Know You

Interview with Chuck Connelly

'New York Stories, Life Lessons'. (Scorsese film from 1989 where Connolley is played by Nick Nolte)

Continuations

The finished kadafi, cut and syrup poured over. This one was pistaschio, but I think I prefer cream. Next time.





Cheese boereg, I used the authentic unsalted block of hard mozzarella but 'next time' (again) I will use something with a bit more flavor or perhaps a mixture of whatever I have leftover. This was very good but the attending gringos didn't quite know what to make of it.

And here is the houhamara, or whatever. I ressurected it by an addition of more oil. I will never again carry this in a suitcase, but the congregation was snarking it down like it was ...free... or something. They loved it.


These are little metal alphabets, about four sets I think but maybe some extra 'e's. There are also a compleat set of punctuation marks and numbers. I found these in the sale bin at Marshalls the other day and will use them as stencils for paints as well as resist for the sun paints I have lingering about. I always meant to use them up so now is the time. Now I have to find appropriate text. Something pithy.


These are the cutest hat boxes I found at West Elm. They have craft tools on their sides that are perfect for my studio. Since the room is open to passers-by in the house I try to keep the ugliest stuff hidden. At the right is one of the new magazine covers with tacks on the back, and unseen is a storage box with pens and pencils. Perfect!


And today I finished the tablecloth shirt. Love the artichokes but have decided against embellishing them with stitchery because then I won't wear it and try to save it for best. Of course 'best' rarely comes. Now if I had me a be-dazzler... watch out!

We are heading home early tomorrow morning to be there in time for services for TY's cousin who died this weekend unexpectedly. This was one of our favorite relatives so he will be sorely missed. If any of you frequented the Wobbly Barn way back when, say a little prayer for Johnny. He wouldn't have been with us long enough if he was 100. It may be a few days before I check back because the next week will be chock full. But I am always lurking just below the surface...

Getting Old Without Getting Better

An interesting NYTs article about aging artists in NYC. I loved one woman's tip about picking up her own pizza so she wouldn't have to tip her delivery guy!

But I found the most important 'tip' to be to not associate with people who bring you down. There isn't enough time left on earth to take on negativity, especially someone else's. I am not talking about not being sympathetic to someone suffering a loss or being in pain, but you can certainly avoid those folks who spend all their time complaiining about one wrong after another. If 'the glass' is more than half empty all the time, run, don't walk, in another direction. I have a dear friend who is in chronic pain with a debilitating condition who is a joy to spend time with. She never mentions her discomforts, she is always upbeat and trying new ways to work around her problems. We are both aware of her limitations, but we try to deal with ways to ignore it as much as possible. She is always making plans for the future, always ready to try a new adventure. She's the best, and a role model for so many people.

I have an update on my suitcase of Armenian food- I had packed it all in ziplock bags, and then put those bags inside of a bigger bag *just in case*. When I arrived in FL after a 3 hour delay plus the 3 hour flight plus the 2 hour early arrival at the airport, making our trip over 8 hours long, the suicase was squashed from the outside. All of the dough products were defrosted but still nice and cold, the halvah needed a bit of a trim to make it square again, the cheese block was fine, but my beloved houhamara had leaked out of it's plastic container that had been sealed with duct tape. It had completely covered the inside of it's ziplock with bright orange oil. Somehow the oil had gotten through that bag and into the bigger bag covering all the things in that so I had quite a greasy clean-up. That was nothing however to the cleanup of the 4 oz tub of cumin that lost it's top and covered everything in the suitcase. Why that wasn't in a baggie i don't know, must have been a late entry into the thought process but I now have a sewing project that smells like it came from Mumbai and a suitcase that has been sitting in the sun for two days now but still needs some white rice to go with it. Good thing I LOVE cumin because I see a suitcase's lifetime ahead smelling it.

I broke down yesterday and finally got my fat self over to the fitness center. It's about as nice as a fitness center could possibly be, but I still wouldn't chose that as the place I wanna be! I spent an hour on the treadmill really pushing it, and certainly feel it today. The nice part was the AC- don't think I will be walking outside any more unless it's cool enough for long sleeves! Besides, 'outside' doesn't come equipped with little tvs. I watched (no sound) a show on HGTV about extreme pools and it was great. Now I want a pool carved out of a granite quarry but alas and alak, Florida doesn't even have little rocks, let alone granite. Second choice was a grotto. And it was so cool- pool was full of good looking people swimming into the grotto and out through a waterfall like one may find in the Mediterranean. The third one was in the mountains and the owner was a Very Old Man who dove into his outdoor pool and the camera followed him as he dipped under a glass wall and emerged in his living room. Then the camera turned back around to the view and it was a zero horizon pool with a view out over a city to die for. And I don't even like pools! Like they say, there are Benefits to Exercise. Here it appears to be tv time I wouldn't normally take.

And now to go sew on my project- a blouse I am making from a tablecloth I always loved. It has artichokes printed on it so I think I may do some embroidery too. Maybe. In the future it will be worn to curry parties or Mexican fiestas since it already has the right smell.

Robert Genn's Baseball Bat...

has hit me on the cranium again. Here is an exerpt from today's 'Painter's Keys' post on being Zen while creating:

Have an attitude of low expectations and nothing to lose.
Try to make deliberate, thoughtful, rhythmic movements.
While not necessarily alone, be solitary.
Allow yourself to dream, flow and indulge your fancies.
Be philosophic about your weaknesses and creative faults.
Let your tools and your media do the talking.
Let your work tell you what it needs.
Let yourself yin and yang between thought and no thought.
Accept imperfection. Try for the spirit of attaining.
Teach yourself to teach yourself as you go.
Be in the now, but look gently ahead.
Be not lazy in your relaxation.

The Good News is that it is all so true and thgiings I have practiced for years without putting it in words. Now I have the words to think about more concretely.

Monastically Sloped Glottle-Stop

Yahoo- I found my book arts jargonator when I was tidying up the desk the other day!

I am packed- I have to pay $15 to check a suitcase but it will be worth it because yesterday I stopped in Watertown to load up in the Armenian stores. I wish I could just carry-on but I am afraid my goods will be taken from me for the security folks to nibble on in the back room while laughing at our stupidity and their own good fortune!

Specifically I have a tub of

mouhamara which, though inert, looks like it may explode. And oh my what a greasy mess that would cause.















Also I have
basterma




and soujuk which look like fossilized body parts but taste like...um...hard meat.










I also have a few bags of pastry, country style phyllo and kaydaif along with unsalted cheese for the
boereg.







And really nice soft pita and some other goodies. I even have a little tub of tiny black seeds that look like some sort of gunpowder. Oh, I may be in trouble for this if someone opens the bag, but we are having a party and need to introduce all out white bread friends, our Tex-excess** friends, and our French and Dutch and Italian friends to a little middle-eastern feast. I'll make shish kebobs to grill but all this other stuff will nicely fill in.




I think we are up to 18 people so far, SRO in our tiny house, and with the tropical storms every day, I do mean IN our house. It'll be fun seeing everyone again even if we eat sitting on the bed...


**(I just made that up and it's perfect for all our pals from Texas who seem to get more, get bigger, get more expensive stuff than anyone else!)

Nine Tide Pools

                                                               Nine Tide Pools

                              51" x 35", original photographs on canvas, cottons, silk 

                              'found' vintage yo-yos.   Machine and hand sewing.

                                                  

Done.  Even signed and with the sleeve and additional 'O' rings for support.  Ready to hang.  Today I added two more pools, the smaller ones, and every single yoyo I have on hand.

                                    detail

                              

Finished in the nick of time to try out a new photographer tomorrow morning.  I have been despondent since David moved to Portland.  No one takes slides like he does, quick, perfect, and professional.  And did I mention affordable?  Ever since we started using him back in 1980, we were after him to raise his prices but he never did except to cover increases in film.  He was fast and efficient, helping us nail quilts to the wall, clean off loose cat hairs (not on mine!) and get on to the next one, click click click.  One can only hope this new woman will be half as good.  If she is, I will spread the word.  If she isn't and isn't trainable, I will not.

I have a little policy that I started long ago.  When I sell a quilt (or anything else) I give myself permission to take the profits and buy a piece of art.  I have collected a few good things this way, though I certainly wish it was more!  A piece presented itself yesterday so I scooped it up right away and every time I walk by it I smile.  It's another crow, but made from a crow decoy from the 20's or 30's and doing a much better job sitting here on my table than as a decoy.  So, when I sell something, at least three people benefit!  Passing it forward.   

Feeling of Accomplishment

One good thing about being home with a sick doggie is that I can hole up in the studio in between cleanups with the roll of paper towels and visits to the vet- look at her sad sick eyes!  (She is doing better tonight and gave me this look when I wouldn't give out any cookies just yet.)

  I am getting some things off the conveyor belt here thanks to the imposed incarceration.  I had about ten prints left over from the 'Flying Over Bridges' book I worked on last fall so picked the 6 better ones and did some embroidery on them.  I gave away all the 6 ply thread and am left with the much heavier gauge floss which I like the looks of better, but is damn hard to pull through this tightly woven painted cotton.  So, here's the lineup from left to right:  (click to get details)




I had it all put together when I came upon the bunnies in the wastebasket, a remnant of my student's toile.  And you remember how I get with toile.  So I had to use it, and added the bunnies leaping over the bridges to escape.  Well, how do you escape over a bridge?  It must be THE EVACUATION ROUTE!  Those of you who never get to lowlands or spend time on islands or skinny peninsulas might never know about evacuation routes, but it's the designated road to get out of the way of whatever coming disaster is looming.  Then whoa, there were also some baby chicks escaping, and then the boys fishing from the bridges need to get away, but first they need a fish so they push their luck.  Oh, I hadn't finished their rods when I took the picture.  Imagine them with rods.

Never push your luck with evacuations.

Next I just cannot leave these rolls of tar paper alone.  These were the ones with the fish and starfish collaged on that I couldn't sew through for the last attempt, but here I have sewn the binding on by machine and kept it only 1/8" around because---

I was using a bias binding.  I had simply forgotten the joys of using bias, it actually molds itself exactly how you want it to be.  Why had I forgotten this?

Here are two circles coming together so neatly no one will know it's MY work!

And finally the free-form shape taking form on the wall.  The bottom 2 circles don't yet have their backing and binding but since the pictures were taken I have finished those too.  I am attempting to hang this puppy straight from one 12" slat (in photo) that will attach to the back of the top circle.  I am somewhat concerned that even with my careful engineering that it may decide to hang wonky after it stretches and pulls itself out of whack.  But for now it's working and all the circles are balancing and hanging flat thanks to their attached yoyos.  We'll see if it lasts, but I have already figured out how to fix it very simply if it doesn't stay where I put it.  Drapery rings.

Third in the TidePool series, but I need a better name so I don't get it too confused with the Tide Pools Collage or the Tide Pools Quilt.  Maybe 'Seven Tide Pools' as a working title.  I am soooo happy to use the fish, loved the fish!  Stay with me here, I know you have seen a bit too much of these damn circles, but I am feeling it this time.  

Besides, Lois and Judy, my cleaning gals, both loved it.  

Buick Prints

This is a photo of a guy's setup for making woodblock prints on a large scale, using a bulldozer.  Go to the link to see more in-process pictures.



I did a version of this myself and called it 'Buick Prints' about ten years ago. The rented Buick worked well because I could set up my painting area on it's wide hood, quickly assemble the package of stuff to jam under the rear wheel and then easily jump in the car and slam it into reverse.  I sandwiched my inked leaves under fabric , then a layer of old blanket on the top and bottom, surrounded by two sheets of plywood covered in plastic sheeting.    With a bit of experimentation I got some interesting prints on linen, but as usual, when I do printing, the ones I 'think' are the best as prints are never the best ones to use making something.  

Here is a huge cut leaf philodendrum from my side yard.  I love these leaves because they last forever when cut so I always have one in a floor vase in the house-  they're free and pack a lot of whollop.  The print was done on linen using acrylic paint with extender, then machine quilted with rayon threads.  It's a pillow cover, about 26" square with Japanese fabric border and back.


The next one was done the same way, but the sea grape leaf elements were cut from several prints and added onto a master print after being backed and quilted with red rayon to duplicate the actual leaves.  Here's the whole thing, also 26" square.

The actual sea grape plant has leaves that start out bright red, then modify through dark reds to dark greens and on to brighter greens before turning khaki brown at the end.  I know that oils would have made better prints because the extender just didn't 'extend' the working time as much as I needed, and the paint was drying as fast as I could slap it on the leaves and jump in the car!  But over time I have gotten to really like the incompleteness of the images.

I had added 'Buick Printing' to my workshop list at one time, thinking it would b a really fun workshop, got hired to do it, and the day was rainy and cold so it got cancelled.  After gathering all that equipment and finding a suitable car and setting up work tables in a parking lot and then getting cancelled, I decided that perhaps there were too many variables to this project and dropped it from my list.  

Then a few years later I dropped the whole list!  I always felt guilty about teaching because I got so much from it right along with the students.  My biggest regret is not keeping a student list so I could be more in touch, but my biggest THRILL is when an old student comes up to me and introduces herself and says how much she liked the class or how much she learned or how it changed her direction.  Every once in awhile I get one of these 'bonus payments', like discovering someone set up a little trust fund for me long ago!  

So, maybe tomorrow I will talk about monoprints of the more common variety.

Oh, I almost forgot to announce that shipping children by US mail has been illegal since 1913, illustrated by this photo from the Smithsonian archives on flickr.